Friday, January 10, 2014

As anyone who follows me on Twitter will know, I have spent the past four months demanding answers from the WikiLeaks Party after they failed to release their promised inquiry into the 2013 Australian election debacle. Given the lack of response, and WikiLeaks' apparent endorsement (e.g. this interview retweeted) for their ongoing foolishness, I thought it might be a good idea to post here the draft party objectives.

I wrote these objectives up in March 2013, based on brief notes from Omar Todd and personal discussion with John Shipton, who kept asking for them to be watered down and less specific. The text below was the fourth draft, which included feedback and agreement from the original National Council members. These Objectives were supposed to appear on the WikiLeaks Party website when it went live, but they were never posted.

Objectives
of the WikiLeaks Party

The WikiLeaks Party aims to secure human rights and freedoms by promoting transparency
and open government.

We believe true democracy requires the provision of truthful, accurate, and
verifiable information. Uninformed citizens cannot make informed decisions. By
empowering citizens with the truth, we aim to illuminate our common historical
record, hold the powerful to account, and optimize our society’s ability to make
enlightened decisions on important issues.

We
believe ordinary citizens have a right to privacy, but those who seek power - including
ourselves - must accept scrutiny and accountability. As a party, we will
promote the transparency of information held by powerful entities - including
governments, corporations, other associations, institutions and individuals - and the actions
performed by them.

We
will propose changes leading to less corruptible government and
business structures, while exposing corruption wherever we find it, from
secret deals with council lobbyists to interference by foreign
governments. And we will do everything possible to protect
whistle-blowers who help expose such corruption.

We will
advocate and support financially responsible government policies, which also
recognise the rights of citizens and the critically important economic value of
a sustainable environment.

We
encourage scientific research and innovative
technologies that can enhance prosperity in a responsible way, and we
will promote freedom of the Internet as an important platform for
communication.

We recognise
the importance of equality between races, religions, genders and generations.
We will advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and promote respect for all other ethnic,
religious, social and political groups.

We will promote a humane, peaceful and
sovereign Australian foreign policy, and support initiatives that genuinely encourage
global peace, co-operation and understanding.

WikiLeaks
has a proven track record as an incorruptible organisation that understands political
complexities and is willing to hold power to account. The WikiLeaks Party supports the vision and ideals of the WikiLeaks
organisation and we will always act as an agent of the people within the corridors
of power.

I highlight the words "including ourselves" because the WikiLeaks Party clearly does not accept scrutiny and accountability.

I highlight the words "scientific research" because it became clear after the election that CEO John Shipton (Julian Assange's biological father) is a climate denialist, and the party website now includes pseudo-scientific denialist nonsense. Of course this would have been a big surprise to the party's many now-departed "Green" supporters, and the party has continued "Greens-bashing" ever since the election.

Some have encouraged me to "get over" this and "move on". Why? I spent years supporting WikiLeaks - as did other party supporters who quit - and I think we deserve answers. If the WikiLeaks Party is not prepared to be held accountable then it cannot possibly ask to be taken seriously in elections. And if WikiLeaks is not prepared to put an end to this nonsense, their brand will inevitably be damaged, and that is a calamity for the entire global transparency movement.

Julian Assange has succeeded because he is a political outsider - outside the tent pissing in. The WikiLeaks Party is inside the tent and pissing all over themselves. And right now critics are pissing themselves with laughter.

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